A photoresist composition used for semiconductor microfabrication employing a lithography process contains a resin having a structural unit derived from a compound having an acid-labile group, being insoluble or poorly soluble in an alkali aqueous solution but becoming soluble in an alkali aqueous solution by the action of an acid, an acid generator comprising a compound generating an acid by irradiation and a basic compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,219 discloses a photoresist composition comprising a resin having a structural unit derived from a compound having an acid-labile group, being insoluble or poorly soluble in an alkali aqueous solution but becoming soluble in an alkali aqueous solution by the action of an acid, an acid generator comprising a compound generating an acid by irradiation and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as a basic compound.